DIY

[tonyo]

Just wondering if there are any DIY renovation aficionados on the forum?

I've just bought my first house and will be moving in probably around April and starting to plan a few renovations that need to be done.

Has anyone here ever installed their own timber laminate or vinyl plank flooring? If so, is it the kind of thing a reno novice can do? I have never done any reno style projects, but am conscious of my dwindling budget, so trying to prioritise what I should get a professional for and what I might be able to do myself.

Three biggest jobs are:

Painting - Interior only, but basically every room needs to be done
Carpet - To bedrooms (3) and lounge
Flooring - Kitchen, family room and hallways. Tossing up between timber laminate and vinyl planks

I definitely will have to get the carpets done professionally, so mainly it's going to be whether I do the painting myself, or do the flooring myself. So to anyone with some experience, which would be the easiest for someone with absolutely no experience in either?

Re laminate flooring, whatever you buy, make sure it's at least 12mm thick.  The 8mm stuff is like walking on cheap plywood.  If you can find the dough, spend a little extra and get 14mm bamboo - best thing I ever did, much tougher and looks better.  Also, 6ft boards look much better than the 4ft ones.  If you are going to do it yourself, you need a good table saw and a multi-tool to cut out the door jambs (there will be lots of cutting....). If you are mad keen, you could remove the skirts and put the flooring underneath, but most people just use the pre-finished quad and leave a gap between flooring and skirts.

Do you really need carpets?  Floorboards with rugs in appropriate spots can be a better result.  But if you carpet, that is something for someone who knows what they are doing.

Painting - piece of cake.  And if it doesn't look good the first time, you can always just go over it.  Make sure you do the appropriate prep work. And do the painting work before you do any of the flooring!  And, the difference between a $20 brush and a $5 brush is worth every cent.

Best of luck